Research Associate on Rural Low Carbon Regeneration

Job reference: HUM-031539

Salary: Grade 6 £37,694 - £46,049 per annum depending on experience

Faculty/Organisational Unit: Humanities

Location: Manchester

Employment type: Fixed Term

Division/Team: Geography

Hours Per Week: 0.5 FTE (17.5 hrs per week)

Closing date (DD/MM/YYYY): 19/06/2026

Contract Duration: Fixed Term for 36 months

School/Directorate: School of Environment, Education & Development

We are seeking a motivated and collaborative individual to join our team as a Research Associate on Rural Low-Carbon Regeneration (Ruralise project). This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to interdisciplinary research on rural housing inequality and low-carbon transitions across Europe within a dynamic and inclusive research environment. You will be part of the Horizon 2020-funded Ruralise project, working with international partners to support sustainable and inclusive rural communities.

You will be responsible for:

• Conducting qualitative research, including interviews and participatory methods, to explore rural housing and low-carbon regeneration
• Undertaking literature reviews across energy justice, housing inequality, and rural development
• Preparing research outputs, including reports, publications, and dissemination materials
• Supporting stakeholder engagement, co-creation processes, and collaboration across European project partners
• Contributing to project coordination, synthesis activities, and knowledge-sharing initiatives

Essential Criteria:

• Research experience and scholarship in the broad domains of energy policy, social environmental science and/or human geography
• Demonstrable ability to undertake desk-based documentary evidence collection and analysis
• Knowledge of household advice and place-based regeneration approaches
• Knowledge of low-carbon governance linked to local authorities and the third sector
• Qualitative data collection and analysis skills
• Knowledge of participatory research methods
• Project management experience
• Experience in writing project reports and contributing to outputs in peer-reviewed journals
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively.

Desirable Criteria:

• A PhD (or equivalent) in human geography, energy, environment, or other closely related subject areas in social environmental science
• Interest in the development and submission of future funding/research bids
• Knowledge of asset-based community development and action research approaches
• Readiness to present and discuss findings at conferences and meetings
• Willingness to engage social media and non-academic organisations in the dissemination of research outcomes.

Our benefits include: Generous employer contribution pension, 29 days annual leave plus bank holidays, along with Christmas closure, Ride to work and EV car scheme available.